Review
From the book jacket:
Venice, a city steeped in a thousand years
of history, art and architecture, teeters in
precarious balance between endurance and
decay. Its architectural treasures
crumble—foundations shift, marble ornaments
fall—even as efforts to preserve them are
underway.
The City of Falling Angels
opens on the evening of January 29, 1996,
when a dramatic fire destroys the historic
Fenice opera house. The loss of the Fenice (pronounced fay-nee-CHAY),
where five of Verdi's operas premiered, is a
catastrophe for Venetians. Arriving in
Venice three days after the fire, Berendt
becomes a kind of detective—inquiring into
the nature of life in this remarkable
museum-city—while...
Beyond the Book
A Short
History of Venice
Venice was
founded in the River Po estuary
by refugees escaping Attila the
Hun in the 5th century. The city is
built on more than 100 islands
forming the archipelago of the
Venetian Lagoon. All transport
within the city of Venice is
either on foot or by water.
Around the 8th century Venice became
a city state, like Genoa and
Pisa; and with its strategic
position at the head of the
Adriatic its naval and
commercial power were almost
invulnerable.
In the late 12th century, the...
